Pax Britannica: The Climax of an Empire - Pax Britannica, Volume 2

A very readable book. Packed with details and facts but some how easy to read. Open it on any page and it will draw you in. It is a fascinating read.

I'm in the midst of reading the trilogy, and I must say that, as a history major and history buff, I've never come across a history so well-told and of such consistent quality. And by "quality" I mean not only the quality of the prose itself but the editing. Those of us who read for pleasure and edification are aware of the sorry state of today's editing, or shall I say absence of editing. We've grown so accustomed to typos and repetition and horrible grammar, so tired of shouting to ourselves, "Where the hell is the editing?" that we find the meticulously edited Pax Britannica like a drink of cool, clear water in the desert.The above comment can be applied to all volumes of the trilogy. Climax of an Empire may give one the impression that Morris is an Imperialist himself. And why not? At its height the British Empire was indeed a splendid edifice which, on balance, was a noble cause.Yet, reading the final volume of the trilogy, Farewell The Trumpets: An Imperial Retreat, one can see that Morris has no illusions. Being a Welsh nationalist himself (now, herself), author James (now Jan) Morris certainly can't be accused of being a tory historian. Even in Climax of Empire, describing Pax Britannica at its most exhuberant, Morris is able to step back:"In Africa they would try...to weld the ancient orders into the structure of Empire, exactly fitting each measure of responsibility into an imperial pattern, so that the pettiest pagan wizard could play his part in the grand design. But by these visionary means nobody was satisfied. The Empire lost part of its point, and the Africans found themselves stuck in a bog of tradition, from which before long all the more intelligent ones did their best to escape."So, those of us with today's politically correct scorn of the benighted past need not censure ourselves for the irresistible delight we get from reading passages like:"Throughout the length and breadth of the Empire a well-spoken, reasonably well-connected young man, with a few introductions in the right places, and a sufficiently entertaining line in small talk, could travel by himself without feeling the need for a hotel."Or here, where he likens Queen Victoria to the Empire itself:"...proud and often overbearing, but with an unexpected sweetness at the heart; suburban and sometimes vulgar, sentimental, in old age less beautiful than imposing; girlishly beguiled by the mysteries of the Orient, maternally considerate towards the Natives, stubbornly determined to hang on to her possessions...."The entire trilogy reads this way. And the footnotes are just as delightful, often gossipy, often trenchant:"When there were no positive or acceptable rules to follow, they were told, they must consult two simple principles: 'Equity or Good Conscience'.[Footnote] "'Whichever,' cynics used to add, 'is the less.'"The fact is, that despite the real depredations by the Portuguese and Belgian imperialists, which gave imperialism a bad name, British imperialism, in and of itself, was benign, establishing peace, justice, integrity and stability, where before had reigned unbridled murder, tyranny, corruption and chaos. That this was only a veneer which would crumble as soon as the British left, says more about the resilience of barbarism than the merits of Pax Britannica. To be sure, only one "gift" of modernity seems to have been a welcomed and permanent addition to local cultures: guns and machetes. Here were far more efficient means for settling scores than spears and stones. And as we see today, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, and excepting India, the Anglo-Saxon dominions and a few others, civilization -- call it imperialism or colonialism -- seems to have made no impression at all.After the fall of the Roman Empire it took Europe centuries before Rome's former colonies rose on their own to the level of civilization imposed by Pax Romana. So it's no coincidence that the title of this grand trilogy, this masterpiece of historical narrative, is Pax Britannica.

Jan Morris is one of the great historians and travel writers of our time. Her books take the reader to places and times that no longer exist but which are so vividly depicted that you can practically smell them.I own the paperback copy of this volume of Pax Britannica and so I can tell you with confidence that his IS ABRIDGED. There are vast swathes missing, and for some reason they've omitted both the chapter names and the rather extensive footnotes.

James Morris’s PAX BRITANNICA [1968], which uses the British Empire as it was in 1897 for a framework, is the best work of popular history I’ve ever read. Morris (who is now “Jan” rather than “James”) is a terrific writer. This elegant, absorbing, let-things-speak-for- themselves book focuses on the personalities, great and small, who shaped and controlled the Empire in its glory days. Of course there are many diversions, surprises and curiosities, and Morris, a master of dry, gentle irony, fully exploits his brilliant talents as a teller of stories. He is as much travel writer as historian. Much of the pleasure (and credibility) of PAX BRITANNICA rests in the fact that Morris visited most of the places of empire he describes - many of them as they were when he was writing the book in the 1960s. Nothing brings history to life like going to the places where it happened. Thus, you will be charmed, as was Morris, to learn that during a single month of 1897, the domestic animal slaughterer in the tiny West Indian colony of St. Lucia despatched 122 cattle, 52 sheep, two goats, 21 pigs and two turtles and that of the 1,824 people born on the island that year, 1,099 were illegitimate. During your vicarious drive along the glorious ocean-side esplanade in Madras, you will be startled to encounter several statues of George V, the penultimate British Emperor of India, in the center of carefully manicured, beflowered roundabouts. In Bombay, at the junction of several major boulevards, you’ll see a small fountain commemorating Arthur Wesley’s (he became the Iron Duke) 1803 victories over the forces of the Maratha Empire. How odd, you’ll think, that such powerful emblems of colonial oppression weren’t destroyed long ago, and what’s more, that at the beginning of the 21st century, these artifacts of Empire are still in place.PAX BRITANNICA is part of a trilogy. Although the first in the series to be written, in subject chronology, it falls between HEAVEN’S COMMAND [1973], about the creation of the Empire, and FAREWELL THE TRUMPETS [1978], about its loss.Although still first rate, in my opinion, the latter works lack the edge of inspiration, engagement and liveliness which make PAX BRITANNICA 2 so special.Other notable books by Morris (he/she has written more than 35) include OXFORD [1979], CITIES [1963], HONG-KONG [1988],THE WORLD OF VENICE [1995], STONES OF EMPIRE: THE BUILDINGS OF THE RAJ [1986], AMONG THE CITIES [1985], COAST TO COAST: A JOURNEY ACROSS 1950's AMERICA [1956] and MANHATTAN ‘45 [1987]. The versatile, wide-ranging Morris has also recently written a book called LINCOLN: A FOREIGNER’S QUEST [2000].